East Burke is 0-5 against Maiden since August of 2017 but things could change on Friday. The East Burke Cavaliers are taking a road trip to challenge the Maiden Blue Devils at 7:30 p.m. Both come into the contest bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
East Burke took a loss when they played away from home back in August, but their home fans gave them all the motivation they needed last Friday. They came out on top against Draughn by a score of 12-7 (the very same score they lost by in their prior game).
East Burke's success was spearheaded by the efforts of Darren Hammons, who rushed for 83 yards and a touchdown, and Zayne Newman, who rushed for 65 yards and a touchdown. The dominant performance gave Hammons a new career-high in rushing yards.
East Burke's defense was in the mix too, especially the secondary: they snagged two passes before it was all said and done. The picks came courtesy of Zac Bennett and Nathan Rees.
Meanwhile, everything went Maiden's way against St. Stephens on Thursday as Maiden made off with a 29-6 win. Given the Blue Devils' advantage in MaxPreps' North Carolina football rankings (they are ranked 103rd, while the Indians are ranked 266th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Raheim Misher had an outrageously good game as he picked up 135 receiving yards and two touchdowns. He didn't just play on offense: he also picked up two sacks and made seven total tackles (2.0 for loss). Another player making a difference was Grant Lawing, who threw for 147 yards and two touchdowns on only nine passes.
East Burke's first victory this season bumped their record up to 1-2. As for Maiden, their win was their fifth straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 2-1.
Things could have been worse for East Burke, but things could have been a whole lot better as they took a 36-22 loss to Maiden in their previous meeting back in September of 2023. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Maiden's Josh Stover, who threw for 207 yards and four touchdowns on only 18 passes, and also rushed for 82 yards and a touchdown. Now that East Burke knows the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
